Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Some Stout-Hearted Drinks

Herein, we’re going to go over a few cocktails you can make with stout.

But first up: we don’t ordinarily think of the ordinary Black and Tan, of course, as a cocktail. We think of it as a beer. We think of it as two beers, in fact. But by most definitions, a Black and Tan is indeed a cocktail.

If some of of think we can’t call a Black and Tan a cocktail, most of us are not used to pouring one at home. But whether or not we agree that the Black and Tan is a cocktail, thanks to Guinness rocket widget technology, we can safely pour one at home. To pour a really good one at home, use a pub spoon. Certainly, the Guinness cans and now bottles give good foam. If your goal is to replicate the pub taste of a Black and Tan at home, a drink involving the rocket widget is your very best bet.

But it’s not your only bet. Most think of a Black and Tan as Guinness and Bass. But a Black and Tan can be any stout and any ale. And happily, the experimentation is as good as the discovery of what kind of mashup works best for you.

Turning to the Doctor’s CocktailDB, as we always do, because it’s the best…

Here is a drink called a Black Velvet: fill a big glass halfway with stout, and top it off with champagne. It’s also called a Champagne Velvet. If you do this just once, you’ll wonder why it never occured to you before to do so. Now when you crave stout and your husband craves champagne, you can stay happily wed. It doesn’t hurt to use a champagne flute for this drink also, but you’re going to get so much foam—these two drinks make for an overflow reading of about 9.1 on the seismograph, the highest ever be recorded—you’d better be careful in those cramped confines.

Also, you can combine stout and champagne into a coffee cup. Result? A Velvet Cup. Sometimes you can get away with this one at the computer, and your spouse will think it’s just a cup of coffee. Um, with a peculiar crema.

Oooo, did you ever think of this good use of good stout? A Dog’s Nose is a glass of stout preceded by a jigger of gin. Dust the foam with nutmeg if your stout benefits from a touch of holiday cheer.

Now, a Stout Sangaree is a true cocktail. You serve it in a double rocks glass—a glass that’s shorter than your pint, the kind of glass you’d serve a big tropical tiki drink in. Build 2 oz. of soda and dissolve half a teaspoon of sugar in the soda. Fill the glass with stout and ice, and sprinkle nutmeg, again to taste. When might you favor such a drink? Well, try the Carribean, where Sangarees have been enjoyed since at least 1774.

It’s a pleasure to be part of the first beer blog carnival! Even if you don’t like mixing your stout with anything, we hope you’ll take a chance on one of the cocktails you can concoct with stout.

14 cocktails dependably better than you've made them

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about the cocktail circuit

This indifferent-to-trend and often openly anti-social site is about the enjoyment of cocktails, beers, wines, spirits and some books. I discuss the enjoyment of the presence of these, often in combination, in daily life. There isn't much here that you might call a purebred review of a drink or a cocktail or even of a book. No, the one consistent belief is that even god-awful cocktails and spirits and certainly questionable books may be found to be exquisite under the right circumstances, and also that dependably perfect cocktail concoctions and poetry and prose may be deplorable at many times. Brands are mentioned, and frequently, and honestly, but mostly I contemplate times, situations, events, and how they relate to favored experiences.

To argue any point or to strike up the possibility of unwanted and highly opinionated 3,000-word correspondences with the author, you may try your luck with joseph.mailander@gmail.com. Or find more info about the proprietor here.

recommended

The bartenders at Absinthe Brasserie in San Franciso have put together a classic. Carefully interpreting classic cocktails, the book focuses on taste sensibilities while remaining highly sensitive to cocktail history. Like two brilliant architects renovating classic Victorian row houses with touches of sleek postmodern designs that breathe life into classics, Hollinger and Schwartz hit all the right notes. Even the book's bibliography is a delight.